January 19, 2011

Quinn, Wisconsin governor bet on Bears-Packers game

Gov. Pat Quinn and Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker have placed their bets on Sunday’s game against the Chicago Bears and the Green Bay Packers, and the loser will have to volunteer at a food pantry in the winner’s state.

To add insult to injury, the loser will have to wear a t-shirt featuring the winning team, as well as fly the team’s flag in the governor’s office on the day before the Super Bowl.

Of course, both politicians already are declaring victory.

“I am sure Governor Walker will look great in blue and orange,” Quinn said in a statement today. “Bear down, Chicago Bears.”

Walker went so far as to predict the final score in Sunday’s NFC Championship game.

The friendly wager comes as Walker has launched a public affairs offensive against Illinois following the passage and implementation of a major income tax increase last week. Walker says the hike will help lure businesses to Wisconsin, while Quinn maintains Illinois’ tax rates are still lower.

Posted at 12:20:00 PM

Comments

Quinn better not spend one cent of taxpayer money for the trip to Wisconsin. We should demand proof that he pays for all travel expenses with his own personal funds. Then again, he doesn't care what the people of Illinois want or he wouldn't have rammed the tax increase down our throats before the representatives we elected in November could take office.

I really didn't care at all about this game, but now I'm rooting for the Packers.

Who really cares about the governor wager? Now for all those morons who voted for Quinn you deserve what is ahead for Illinois. Regardless of the outcome of the game watch every Chicago sports owner consider relocation entirely to a border Wisconsin or Indiana city.

Oh, so volunteering at a food pantry is degrading work intended to rub it in, or "add insult to injury" as the article puts it. This is degrading to anyone who volunteers their time to feed and care for the less fortunate among us; those suckers who do it because they care and not just for some stupid publicity stunt.

Coming from a state(Wisconsin) that double taxes your retirement money. They tax going in, and they tax going out. And yes, the tax rate is still lower than several surrounding states. Overall, they raised it 1%, since it was 4%, then they lowered it to 3%.

The governor's office doesn't belong to either of these guys, it belongs to the states they are in. I find it distastefull they would risk dis-respecting the state they govern by flying a out of state team. How selfish they would embarass the whole state over their own bet.

All 50 aldermen on the Chicago City Council had to file paperwork earlier this year detailing their outside income and gifts. The Tribune took that ethics paperwork and posted the information here for you to see. You can search by ward number or alderman's last name.

The Cook County Assessor's office has put together lists of projected median property tax bills for all suburban towns and city neighborhoods. We've posted them for you to get a look at who's paying more and who's paying less.

Past posts

Clout has a special meaning in Chicago, where it can be a noun, a verb or an adjective. This exercise of political influence in a uniquely Chicago style was chronicled in the Tribune cartoon "Clout Street" in the early 1980s. Clout Street, the blog, offers an inside look at the politics practiced from Chicago's City Hall to the Statehouse in Springfield, through the eyes of the Tribune's political and government reporters.